MD Helicopters has announced its presence at Paris 2001 by confirming a string of orders for the MD Explorer.
Air Methods Corp of Colorado is to use one Explorer to provide a back-up air medical service across a network of hospitals. The aircraft will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada 207E engines, which MD says offer 10% more power than the existing powerplant.
Another medevac contract came from Air Methods subsidiary Mercy Air Service, which covers southern California and southern Nevada. The community-based air ambulance service will take delivery of one Explorer.
On the other side of the Atlantic, German operator Heli Unionair is to take two Explorers for a combination of VIP and air medical missions.
"This was a tough decision," says Heli Unionair owner Johannes Kruger. Different
"We considered three different aircraft and selected the Explorer because of its outstanding cost-to-income ratio."
The air support unit of the Belgian Federal Police was due to take delivery of its third Explorer as the show got under way. The unit already operates two Explorers and two single-engine MD520Ns.
Source: Flight Daily News
